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Level of service at retail banks.

Claw Hammer

What is going on with the banks. I tried to call an AIB branch using the phone number given online. After 15 minutes of typing in number there is an answer. I am asked my address and date of birth and what I wanted done. I am then told to wait and then informed that there is no answer from the branch and someone will ring me back. WTF1 They don't want people calling to branches and they are supposedly trying to encourage internet and telephone banking. If there was any choice I would be moving my business.

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Jim2007

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058248194/level-of-service-at-retail-banks

Two banks are exiting the market because they found it unprofitable. When customer are demanding free or very low priced services, they can't make money on it, so there is no motivation to invest in it.

CreadanLady

Revolut. I moved everything bar mortgage to Revolut. handy out

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138963#Comment_119138963

Good luck trying to call Revolut in fairness 😀

NUTLEY BOY

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058248194/level-of-service-at-retail-banks

AIB also seem to be closing branches.

What is also quite hopeless is the supposed availability of AIB transactions at post offices. That is great if you can find a handy post office as several near me in Dublin alone have shut.

The latest fun is to find an AIB branch which contains a cashier - remember them !

macvin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138963#Comment_119138963

If you have an issue with Revolut (and you can have many issues), you will realise why they have low charges.

It is impossible to chat to someone with actual knowledge of quite basic banking transactions and they repeat a prepared answer that has no connection to your issue. And the fact that they don't have Irish IBANS cause many issues too.

Bunq though is an alternative, but again the customer service is chat based but they do have a very good community forum.

No-one really wants "phone" clients. They take up far too much time.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119138948#Comment_119138948

The banks are exiting because of the capital requirements. Ulster's customer service as declining for years before the announced their intention to exit. After the Royal Bank of Scotland took over, Ulster went into decline. Retail banking is a relatively recent development in Ireland. Before the 1960s the banks operated more like private banks. They only dealt with the well off. Everyone else got credit from the corner shop and saved in the Post Office. They are clkearly going back to that. When interest rates rise, the banks will be back in the hunt for deposits again. The banker who currently won't give a depositor the time of day will be back with his false sickly smile trying to attract deposits. I hope people have long memories.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119150526#Comment_119150526

I think this is excellent. I’m computer literate so the online stuff is sufficient for me. But I think you have a key trend here: Joe soap is meant to rent, have a bank account for automated transfers and not bother his betters into the future.

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058248194/level-of-service-at-retail-banks

If you want a personal service, switch to your local credit union.

cal naughton

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119150526#Comment_119150526

The bank's are trying to get rid of deposits with negative rates not trying to attract them. It's a loss maker for them and it's very doubtful that the bank's will be seeking to attract them for a very long time. Lots of cheaper funding elsewhere.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119165964#Comment_119165964

Credit unions have limited services. I am in one and I haven't stood in it in years. Most credit unions are appallingly badly run. none give cheque books and they are very expensive to borrow from.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119168457#Comment_119168457

For what possible reason could you need a cheque book?

coylemj

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119167119#Comment_119167119

Branch closures and the reduction in services in the branches that stay open have nothing to do with low interest rates. The retail banks decided a long time ago that a lot of branch traffic involves interactions that make very little, if any, profit. The result is that, in branches that are open, the number of visible staff (and their competence) has noticeably diminished in the last 20 years.

Being blunt about it, a lot of elderly people go into banks and post offices purely for some human contact - 'to have a chat' as they tell Joe Duffy when they're bellyaching about their local PO or bank closing.

magicbastarder

i managed to get through to the mortgage securities department in AIB on the phone a few months ago (which they seemed a little put out about, i don't think they take direct calls from the public) and ended up explaining the concept of leasehold on a house to them. the person i was talking to - who works in a mortgage securities department - had never heard of the concept of owning the house but not the land under it.

DoctorEdgeWild

I think the switch to online banking has been absolutely brilliant. Everything done through an app, no reason to take time off work to stand in a queue or people wasting a cashier's time. Recently got a cheque to pay for something and was able to scan it in on my phone, was in my account almost instantly.

Admittedly I don't do anything complicated, just get paid in, then pay out. It might be different for those with a lot of needs. Maybe a different service for them that they could pay for with charges? For me, free banking, free app, suits me fine.

Claw Hammer

Online banking has been a godsend in may ways but it is coming at the cost of some things being almost impossible. I recall being able to ring an assistant manager and have an overdraft authorised on the spot. Now I can't get a phone call answered.

Nermal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169055#Comment_119169055

Out of interest, which bank is offering the cheque scanning? I've heard of it in the US/UK but haven't seen it here.

DoctorEdgeWild

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169408#Comment_119169408

I'm living in the UK, using Lloyds, really cool feature. Hadn't seen a cheque in years and with branch opening times I thought it would sit on my shelf for ages! Luckily the app just shoots, scans, done! Felt quite futuristic.

magicbastarder

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169055#Comment_119169055

this is the thing though, it's not the case of 'everything done through an app'; the routine stuff which is easily automated, yes, but with my recent experience with two different requests, finding someone who knows what they're talking about has become harder.

DoctorEdgeWild

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169773#Comment_119169773

I can imagine so. I think it's a case of banks wanting to cater to people like me (very low drain on their resources, minimal interaction) than wanting to deal with someone who requires more of their resources. (mortgages, loans, overdrafts etc.)

As a business looking at us, I'm an 'easier' customer than you. (Pretty sure you'll have more money in there though, I'm flat broke after the Jubilee bank holiday! 😂)

magicbastarder

in one of the two cases (the other was the one mentioned above, in relation to the mortgage securities thing), it was transferring the bank account to my address when i took over as treasurer of a small club. i think it took four visits to the bank; and i got a different story each time, along the lines of 'sorry, you were given the wrong documentation to fill out, this is the documentation you need' or 'you were told you didn't need the signature of the outgoing treasurer? sorry, but you do', etc.

Strumms

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119165964#Comment_119165964

A bank and a credit union are not the same things and credit unions only offer a small percentage of the services you’ll obtain from a bank…

i agree with the OP that standards of services at banks seem to be plummeting.

The regulation of that industry is obviously something just done in name only…

Nermal

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169863#Comment_119169863

The existing regulation is already so intrusive that competition has all but disappeared. Further conduct of business regulation will just increase costs for us all. If you want to visit a branch or speak to someone on the phone, why shouldn't you be paying for it yourself?

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119168457#Comment_119168457

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119169863#Comment_119169863

Certainly, they’re not the same thing, but they are providing similar services, with full current account services, access to drafts (which are cheques, only better) and full counter service for lodging or withdrawing cash. No one is forced to use their CU , but it is a bit silly to be whinging about the loss of counter service while not choosing your CU.

Claw Hammer

The CU issue a draft on request, which is not the same thing as having a cheque book. Lodging and withdrawing cash is only a small part of banking. I can't remember the last time I withdrew cash at a bank counter. The interest rates from credit unions on borrowings are massive.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119168469#Comment_119168469

For the purpose of writing cheques. Not everyone takes cards. I am a member of some small clubs. They want cheques for some of their activities. They can't afford merchant services and don't want the administration of checking transfers.

Allinall

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119170242#Comment_119170242

That doesn't make any sense.

".....and don't want the administration of checking transfers."

How much administration is involved in recording and lodging cheques?

Citrus_8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119170252#Comment_119170252

Exactly! I think it's the problem of people's beliefs and habits. It's so much easier and quicker to simply export a csv file from the online banking and reconcile accounts than administering each cheque!

[Deleted User]

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119170234#Comment_119170234

Cheque books really are a thing of the past. I haven't had one for more than five years. I've gotten 2 or 3 CU drafts for the occasions when no other payment option was available. The OP of this thread was about counter service for cash, so the CUs are definitely a good option for those who want that kind of service. CU loan rates are generally in the same ballpark as bank loans. SHopping around is always a good idea.

Claw Hammer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119173895#Comment_119173895

When the secretary of a club gets a cheque, they know who it came from. Sometimes they get banks transfers and they don't know who it came from. tracking down anonymous transfers consumes far more time than lodging a cheque.

Citrus_8

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/119178256#Comment_119178256

That's easy to resolve by asking a sender to mention a unique reference number which you'd assign to the client. If they fail to do so, a payment gets unallocated and a secretary can send an email reminder or call the client explaining and asking for a remittance. If this isn't the process yet and you're still playing with cheque in this century, I'd highly recommend to create such a process and notify the clients. Some vendors are now charging extra for cheques. There're some bookkeeping software solutions which could make things easy, just need to avoid staying old-school and adapt to the technological changes. When I moved to Ireland 7 years ago I was surprised people still used cheques as in my country they're long gone or so unpopular that they are nearly forgotten. Banks even had login code cards not that long ago! We really need to speed up the pace in this country to become more up-to-date, and I'm not even talking about the whole infrastructure and innovations we're still behind... And I think the main reason is the people's mentality that all good the way things are while actually they aren't - we'll become an irrelevant and outdated country with such attitudes. With big IT companies in the state we should mentally be ready for innovations and technologies too... A bank cheque in this context simply sounds like an anecdote.